Key Takeaways:
- Defunct crypto exchange FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried has moved to court again
- In a pretrial motion, he has asked the court to dismiss some of the criminal charges against him
- He was arrested last year in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States after his company crushed the crypto market
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has submitted pretrial motions in a New York District Court to dismiss most charges against him.
He faces several charges, including allegations of bribery, wire and securities fraud, and campaign finance violations, among other things. According to reports, his trial on these charges is set to begin in the fall of 2023.
Charges against him stem from the dramatic collapse of the Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX last November. The incident tanked the crypto markets, with many companies filing for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried, whose net worth peaked at $26 billion, also went bankrupt.
Among many alleged illegal activities, he allowed his trading firm Alameda Research to maintain an unlimited negative balance on FTX.
As per reports, the firm had accumulated as much as $8 billion in liabilities. SBF even asked top executives to hide these liabilities in a fake customer account which he called “our Korean friend’s account” or “the weird Korean account.”
In December 2022, despite the mounting evidence against him, SBF managed to get bail from the court. A part of the condition is that he would remain under house arrest in the $4 million home belonging to his parents. In January 2023, he pleaded “not guilty” to all charges.
SBF lawyers want some charges dropped
In the pretrial motion, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges brought against him partially. Before his arrest, SBF was living in the Bahamas. However, he was extradited to the United States upon the Government’s request to face the charges against him.
His attorneys have argued that many of the charges against SBF were filed after his return from the Bahamas.
Also Read: Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bail Proves That US Judicial System is Biased and Anti-Poor
According to the terms of the extradition treaty between the Bahamas and the United States, local authorities need the consent of the Bahamas to press extra charges after extradition.
However, they claim that authorities in the Bahamas could not have consented without additional information. The United States has failed to provide those. Hence SBF should not face trial on these charges.
The request for a dismissal covers a wide range of charges, including bribery through political contributions, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and unlicensed money transmitter operation.
Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, had previously argued that his “client is not acknowledging he can be tried” on these charges.
Prosecutors now have until May 29 to respond to Bankman-Fried’s dismissal request. Meanwhile, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear the arguments on June 15, 2023.
